Ignoring Game Design Documents is a one-way trip to disaster.

You certainly save a lot of time in the short term, but then you find yourself working with trivial and not refined ideas. They will create a snowball effect of fixes you need to make down the road, inevitably ruining your game (and your team’s relationships). This week we’ll look at 4 reasons why Game Design Documents MUST be part of your design process so that they can become your best and trusted friend.

The purpose of Game Design Documents is way beyond describing game features.

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Here they are:

• Writing Makes You Think
• Communication Is On Steroids
• Frees Up Your Brain
• Creates An Everlasting Archive

Without further ado, let’s jump right in.

#1: Writing Makes You Think

The act of writing triggers your brain’s System 2.

In the amazing book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Daniel Kahneman describes 2 modes of thinking: System 1 and System 2.

• System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional
• System 2 is slow, deliberative, and logical.

Your brain is either working on one or the other.

So writing, as any activity that requires effort, engages System 2, so the simple act of describing a feature makes you think hard. And the more details you need, the more you’re forced to reason.

This effect is almost never cited, but its benefits are obvious.

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Game Design Documents are an extension of your mind.

This is the most critical aspect of documentation and the most overlooked. While describing a feature, you must be as detailed as possible because it makes you think about all the possibilities. Having them written in front of you gives you a different look at them, thus a different way of thinking about them.

Are you working alone? No problem; this huge benefit applies even if you don't have a team.

This way, you can identify most problems before prototyping and save precious time.

Ok, let's move to the next reason, which is quite popular.

#2: Communication Is On Steroids

If managed well, asynchronous written communication is amazingly efficient.

Being constantly busy with meetings, calls, and real-time chats is a real pain, and most people are drained before evening. The reason is simple: you keep switching contexts all the time, and your brain is begging for focus.

Asynchronous communication can be a good solution that respects everyone’s time and needs. If well organized, documents play a crucial role in this. You decide what to communicate (by writing them) and delegate the when to them (they’re always available).

You need some organizational work upfront, but when the machine is oiled, the benefits are visible.

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The whole team is always on the same page without speaking a word.

This doesn't delete the need for group meetings, of course, but it greatly reduces the day's availability time. Despite what people think, the brain needs deep focus without interruption to perform at its best.

Delegating communication to documents gives you just that. Every team member is always on the same page thanks to up-to-date information and can focus on his work. And if you're working alone, you'll benefit from it too! You're communicating with your future self that may not remember your thought processes.

Good, let's see another important reason.

#3: Frees Up Your Brain

Your brain + technology = superpowers.

We all know both that our brain capacity is incredible and that it’s limited. However, the information abundance of the modern world makes us focus much more on limits than its capabilities.

If used well, technology is the perfect missing piece. Why should you force yourself to remember things when you can store them in an everlasting document? You shouldn’t because what your brain does best is thinking, not memorizing.

And there’s a hidden benefit to it that no one talks about.

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Documents delete the burden of remembering and boost the ability to think.

The correct use of Game Design Documents is not the final product of your entire thinking process. But it’s making them a fundamental part of it.

A game, even a small one, has many elements and details that our brains cannot memorize. It’s just too much. Therefore, writing everything down in a document frees your memory. This way, your brain can use its full power to think while ensuring no information will be lost.

The larger the game, the more crucial documentation is.

And last but not least, the most common reason to write documents.

#4: Creates An Everlasting Archive

Doing the same thing from scratch every time is stupid.

Whether writing a piece of code, describing a well-known feature, or designing a basic functionality from square one, you’re wasting valuable time and energy. Also, you’re more prone to errors since you’re not considering past experiences. If the team documents everything during the development, the future benefits are enormous.

You create an everlasting archive always available for everyone.

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Your previous GDDs are a goldmine of inspiration and solved problems.

You can quickly identify what worked and what didn’t in previous games and use it to avoid future mistakes. You can even be brutal about that if you need. There’s no shame in copy-pasting an entire document of the same feature you designed in the past (for a sequel, for example).

So don’t wait any longer! Write clean, detailed, and readable documents from your first project (even if it’s a small game you won’t publish).

Trust me; it’s one of the best decisions you can make for your future self.

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Key Takeaways:

• The act of writing forces you to think deeper.
• Documents boost communication efficiency and speed.
• Documents free your brain's memory and shift your focus to thinking.
• Previous documentation is a goldmine of inspiration and solved problems.

A Modern Game Designer knows that documents are not a chore, but a tool to 10x his design quality.

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I’ve also talked about Game Design Documents in previous Game Design Compass episodes:

• 👉 What Documents Should A Game Designer Focus On?
• 👉 Wiki Format In Game Design Docs: 4 Key Reasons It Outshines The Single Giant Document
• 👉 How To Build A GDD Wiki Home Page That Boosts Efficiency And Collaboration
• 👉 Game Design Documents: 3 Effective Tips To Use Them And Boost Your Design Process
• 👉 Game Design Document Formatting: 5 Critical Mistakes That Make Your Docs Ignored

Check them out if you want to dive deeper.